Inducible left ventricular obstruction after apical-conduit aortic valve bypass surgery

In recent years, apical-aortic bypass surgery has been used for patients with a heavily calcified or ‘‘porcelain’’ ascending aorta or hostile mediastinum because these patients would be at high risk for cerebrovascular events during crossclamping of the calcified ascending aorta. In this case, we describe a previously unreported complication of apical aortic bypass and illustrate the role of cardiac catheterization and ventriculography in the hemodynamic evaluation of this patient.